Life At Its Best: Be willing to make a shift

As a kid, my mom used a phrase to get me up and going in the morning. She'd say, "Jimmy, you'd better get it in gear!" She realized if I was going to make the bus and get to school, I was going to have to make an adjustment - to shift gears.

Creating motion takes a shift whether it's in our cars, clocks or our inner person. We move forward by adjusting to the process that gets us from one place to another.

God has a predetermined plan for each of our lives. He has a design for us that is much better than any we could ever imagine. But getting to that glorious destination is not automatic. It requires us to make some inner shifts along the way.

We see this in the life of David, who became Israel's greatest king. He was a 17-year-old shepherd boy when Samuel anointed him to be Israel's next king. But no one thought David would do it.

His own father didn't even recognize his potential. He was from one of the poorest families in Israel. David had to determine that day that what other's thought of him wasn't nearly as important as what God thought of him.

In fact, the Bible says that from the day David was anointed by Samuel, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power. David's heart had to embrace who God was calling him to be. It had to shift, not just once, but over and over again.

Why? Because he had plenty of enemies to face and battles to fight before he reached the destination God had for him.

In Psalms, we find that David is honest about the discouragement and disappointments he often faced. Yet it was those heart adjustments that kept him moving toward God's ultimate destination.

It's no different for us. God has an abundantly fulfilling and fruitful life designed for each of us. He has a plan to take us into the best life possible. But like David, it will require us to shift inside. It will take us embracing the right attitudes and actions that will keep us moving forward.

David's willingness to shift in his own life not only affected him, but his whole nation. Because he moved forward, his whole nation moved forward. It went from being oppressed to being blessed.

Our obedience always affects more that just our life. So, let me ask you: Who is God calling you to be? Where does he want to take you in your personal life, marriage, family and profession?

Where God has a will for our lives, he also has a way. Don't let the past keep you from the future God has. Let's give God permission to take us where he knows we can go. You can bet it's better than anything we have planned on our own.

Jim Graff is the senior pastor of Faith Family Church in Victoria.faithfamilyvictoria.com.